This invention relates to a new and improved collector and method for recovering spills on water such as oil, chemicals, and the like. These types of spills are occuring with greater and alarming frequency due to tanker and barge traffic on oceanic, lake and river areas. In most cases, the spills are accidental in nature due to collision, running aground, ship breakup caused by heavy seas, and inadvertant release of noxious substances, whether on a boat or from a facility on land. In other cases, the release of these substances is intentional, and designed to purge or release contaminants from a system in the least expensive manner.
In the case of oil spills, it becomes very difficult to contain and remove or recover the oil which can move quickly as a very thick slick. So far, attempts to control or divert these slicks have not been considered very successful.